Jimi Stringer
Jimi Stringer is a veteran Hero and senior member of Hero Factory Alpha Team. Biography Early Career One of the earliest known Heroes to be manufactured by the Hero Factory, Stringer came into being in the Assembly Tower in Makuhero City, based off of schematics designed by Akiyama Makuro. Trained alongside Dunkan Bulk, Von Ness, and Preston Stormer, the four young Heroes were assigned to Alpha Team, operating under a hero named Thresher. During this time, Alpha Team was notably charged with dismantling the Legion of Darkness criminal syndicate, which had arisen in opposition to the Hero Factory after their string of early successes. With an XT4 unit successfully infiltrating the Assembly Tower, the Hero Factory was temporarily shut down following a media frenzy. Scheduled to be retasked as a sentry unit guarding for the conglomerate cooperate entity of Makuhero Industries, Stringer and his teammates defied orders and returned to the Assembly Tower, capturing a number of high-profile criminals in the process. This successful operation notably earned Stringer a commendation and restored the reputation of Hero Factory. Following an ill-fated mission in Stellac City, Stormer returned to the Assembly Tower with Thresher, who had been a mortally wounded by a heavily-weaponized mechanoid and the betrayal of Von Ness. With Thresher retiring soon after the ordeal, Stormer took on the role of Alpha Leader, with Stringer and Bulk supplementing his Hero team. Training together in the years after Thresher's departure, all three members of Alpha Team were known to have earned veteran status, making them the most prominent Hero team in active duty. Some time after his inauguration, Stringer was dispatched to combat Core Hunter while patrolling a distant sector of the Hero Factory's galactic jurisdiction. Trailing the villain to an abandoned freighter, Stringer was ambushed by the mercenary only for a winged creature to disrupt the skirmish and endanger both Hero and villain. Forced to cooperate, Stringer temporarily allied himself Core Hunter to release the creature out of the freighter's airlock. However, choosing this moment to double-cross the Hero, Core Hunter trapped Stringer on the other side of the pressure chamber and released him into open space. With Core Hunter hijacking Stringer's Herocraft, Stringer contacted the Hero Factory and requested the Mission Control engineers set the transporter on autopilot back to the Assembly Tower, where Core Hunter was successfully apprehended. For his part in the capture of such a dangerous criminal, Stringer received a notary commendation from Akiyama Makuro. Von Nebula's Revenge Several years into his career as an Alpha Team member, Stringer and his cohorts were assigned three new rookie Heroes to their unit: Mark Surge, Natalie Breez, and William Furno. While Stormer became notoriously hard to please and held unrealistic expectations of the new recruits, Stringer and Bulk grew more sympathetic. Acting as part of an armed escort for a shipment of C-4000 on Merak 9 several months later, Stringer and his team were ambushed by XPlode and Rotor, two notorious galactic bandits. Working with Bulk to contain Rotor, Stringer was eventually forced to fend off XPlode. Dazed by an explosion, Stringer was escorted to cover by Stormer. Doubling back and re-engaging the two criminals, the Heroes were eventually able to corner Rotor while XPlode escaped. Offering Furno the opportunity to apply the Hero Cuffs, the Heroes were unable to apprehend either thief. Several days later, Alpha Team was assaulted by Corroder whilst overseeing the construction of Penitentiary 1331. With the criminal pinning Bulk down beneath a pile of girders and with Surge tending to his teammate, Stringer was forced to draw Corroder's fire for some time until reinforcements could be dispatched from the Assembly Tower. An unclear number of solar cycles later, Stormer accompanied Furno, Breez, and Surge on a training exercise under his instruction. Ambushed by Meltdown and exposed to a burst of degraded nuclear waste, Stormer's Hero's armor plating was breached and the Alpha Leader became infected with a potent swarm of microscopic nanobots. Returning to the Assembly Tower for a diagnostic report, the nanobots swiftly began to affect the chemistry of Stormer's central processor, heightening his aggression. Resorting to a more primal nature, Stormer engaged Bulk, Stringer, and Furno, escaping out into Makuhero City. With Bulk and Stringer leading Breez and Surge on a mission to retrieve the chemical antidote from Lunar Tratix, Furno trailed Stormer through Makuhero City. Locating the compound needed to purge the nanobots from Stormer's system, the Heroes were attacked by a Tratix Reptoid, which entangled Surge and prompted Stringer and Bulk to return fire. With Breez establishing contact with the Reptoid, the Heroes were ultimately able to retrieve the mineral and return to the Assembly Tower. With Furno having successfully located and retrieved Stormer, Hero Factory scientists were able to synthesize a cure that purged the nanobots for Stormer's system and remedied the Hero of Meltdown's infection. Several days later, Stringer responded to a distress call in New Stellac City alongside Bulk and Stormer. Marveling at a statue erected to commemorate Stormer's defeat of the Drone many years ago, the three Heroes swiftly discerned that they had walked into an ambush, with Thunder and Corrodor emerging from two transporter pods. After a brief firefight, Stringer and his cohorts were seemingly overpowered and lost contact with Hero Factory Mission Control. With Furno, Breez, and Surge arriving on the scene as reinforcements only for XPlode and Meltdown to appear, Stringer his teammates moved from their shelter to cover the rookies. With Alpha Team reassembled, the Heroes were confronted by a swirling, nebulous vortex in the sky above New Stellac City. With their weapons magnetically attracted to the gravitational anomaly, Stringer reluctantly relinquished his Sonic Boom Weapon as Stormer stubbornly dived into the dimensional breach to confront Von Ness. With Furno defying orders and following him, Stringer was forced to fend off the villains with his remaining teammates while disarmed. Implementing the Particle Separators added to their collective arsenals before the mission, the four Heroes were able to weather the worst of the projectile attacks unharmed until all four criminals depleted their energy weapons. Successfully apprehended the rest of Von Nebula's cohorts without their weapons, the four Heroes would witness the return of Stormer and Furno and the defeat of Von Nebula. Upon their return to Makuhero City, Stringer and his fellow Elite heroes presented Furno, Breez, and Surge to Daniella Capricorn, announcing them as the latest additions to Alpha Team. Over the course of the following months, Stringer would return to active patrol duty and interact sparingly with his teammates. During the raid of Tanker Station 22, Stringer was attending Akiyama Makuro's unveiling of the Upgrade. While initially intrigued by the promises of a more endurable and adaptive Hero frame, Stringer was disheartened by the revelation that the Upgrade would take several months to be tested and rolled out into production. After witnessing several of his Alpha Team compatriots prematurely equipped with this new frame in order to combat Fire Lord, Stringer was soon fitted in the Assembly Tower. During this time, Stringer would witness three new Heroes joining Alpha team: Evo, Nex, and Rocka. Savage Planet Several months later, the Hero Factory received an urgent distress signal from a rookie named Rocka, who had countermanded instructions and journeyed to the planet Quatros. Refitted with bear-themed armor, Stringer accompanied a team consisting of Stormer, Bulk, Nex, and Furno to recover their teammate, quelling several instances of in-fighting and excessive showmanship amongst the Heroes. Landing the Dropship on the quarantined jungle planet, Stringer listened as Stormer reiterated the mission parameters and recounted the tale of Professor Aldeous Witch's exile, a former Hero Factory scientist who had sent out the initial distress beacon. Venturing out onto the planet's surface, the Heroes tracked their fallen teammate's unique Quaza signature, eventually finding him unconscious with depleted energy reserves. While escorting the weakened rookie back to the Dropship, Furno became separated from the group and was approached by Aldeous Witch, who had now adopted the title of Witch Doctor. Surviving the encounter, Furno returned to report that the Witch Doctor was controlling Quatros' wildlife for his own sinister purposes, correlating with Rocka's testimony. With Rocka refitted with his own set of jungle armor, the Heroes set off once more in search of Witch Doctor, eventually reaching an abandoned teleportation device. However, with Rocka and Furno constantly bickering hindering Alpha Team's progress, Stormer furiously proposed that they each head up a smaller team of three to once and for all decide who was the better tactician. Joining Furno and Nex's team, Stringer and his compatriots traveled through the jungle on foot. Venturing closer to Witch Doctor's mining operation, the three heroes were ambushed by a Waspix and Scorpio specimen, both corrupted by the influence of Witch Doctor's Quaza Spikes. While Furno engaged the Waspix in the air, Stringer struggled to cover Nex from their position in the treetops. While the Waspix was eventually overpowered, the Scorpio would trail Stringer and his allies as they centered in on Witch Doctor's base of operations. Reunited with the rest of the team, Stringer soon discovered that the teleportation system had reconstituted Stormer, Rocka, and Bulk at a quarter of their original size. While Furno drew the attention of the site's Fangz hounds, Stringer and Nex carried their allies back to the teleportation access tunnel and reactivated it, returning the three shrunken Heroes to their original size. Now at full strength, Stormer returned to the helm and led the charge against the Witch Doctor. After a confrontation with a corrupted Raw-Jaw specimen, Stringer was ultimately able to remove the corrupted Quaza Spike from the creature, thus releasing it from Witch Doctor's control. With Rocka refitting himself in ancient armor found beneath the temple grounds, the Heroes were finally able to overwhelm Witch Doctor and destroy his Skull Staff, ceasing his influence over the planet's wildlife. However, with the drilling probe still in operation, Witch Doctor was able to extract the last deposit of Quaza mineral from Quatros' surface, thus debilitating the delicate ecosystem of the planet. Working to bring down the probe, Bulk and Furno were able to damage the thrusters and return the Quaza to the temple grounds from which they had been extracted, thus restoring Quatros to its original state of floral abundance. With the rescue mission complete and the exiled professor apprehended, Bulk and Stringer detained Witch Doctor and transported him back to the Hero Craft, ready for transport to the Villain Storage Facility beneath the Assembly Tower. Breakout Some time after the Quatros mission and notably coinciding with Black Phantom's assault on the Assembly Tower, a villain named Voltix was known to have smuggled the essence of Von Nebula into Villain Storage. Evading the security measures, Von Nebula's gaseous form was able to trigger the Black Hole Orb Staff and conjure a localized black hole portal in the central chamber. With the cells deactivated in the ensuring power surge, Stormer and his teammates attempted to subdue the criminals before they reached the dimensional gateway and escaped. Fending off Jawblade with some success, Stormer was forced to disengage and discipline Evo for his foolhardy conduct. Unable to contain a single villain, the Heroes watched the dimensional gate collapse then reported the solemn news back to the Command Center. With Hero Factory resources spread thin, Mission Control assigned each Hero an individual mission to capture and subdue an escaped criminal. Assigned the task of subduing Speeda Demon, Stormer was refitted with a set of XL armor, several arm-mounted Attack Drones, Dual Power Blades, and a Plasma Shooter. Also equipped with the prototype Ultra Mach Speed Cycle, Stormer was dispatched to Kollix IV and issued an upgraded set of Hero Cuffs with which to compensate for Speeda Demon's Nitro Rocket Bike. Fearful that the criminal would launch in a scheme to damage the planet's communication array if left unchecked, Stormer swiftly gave chase and attempted to out-maneuver the criminal. However, Speeda Demon proved too agile and attempted to run Stormer off the road. Adopting a different set of tactics and adjusting to his disadvantage, Stormer successfully used his Attack Drones to destabilize Speeda Demon before using the Hero Cuffs to apprehend him entirely. Successfully completing his mission, Stormer returned to Makuhero City with Speeda Demon in tow. Finding that the Assembly Tower's Fail-Safe Protocol had been initiated, Stormer was reunited with Furno, Surge and Evo only to find that a holographic forcefield now surrounded the Assembly Tower. With Rocka operating on the inside and with a villain named Black Phantom now in control of the building, Stormer and his cohorts were forced to utilize more underhanded tactics. Convincing Daniella Capricorn to report that no Heroes had returned, Alpha Team accelerated Black Phantom's plans and gave Rocka the opportunity to deactivate the Fail-Safe forcefield. Making their way back inside the Command Center, Stormer and his cohorts confronted Rocka about his clandestine activities, only for the Hero to reveal that he had been operating under instruction of the Hero Recon Team and that he had been investigating Black Phantom for some time. Discovering that the villain had refitted the Assembly Tower with Anti-Quaza and that he planned to generate an army of Heroes to serve his purpose, Stormer led Alpha Team in the charge against Black Phantom's Arachnix Spiders while Rocka directly engaged him. Ultimately defeating the villain by connecting him directly to the Assembly Tower's Quaza supply, Stormer witnessed the defeat and capture of the Black Phantom, as well as the successful reactivation of the Mission Control center and the return of Stringer from his mission. However, once the Hero Factory systems had been restored, Alpha Team would later discover that Black Phantom had acquired the blueprints of the entire Assembly Tower and distributed them to an unknown recipient. Following several failed attempts to recapture the escaped villain known as Core Hunter, Stormer would later coordinate the entirety of Alpha Team on a recovery operation to track down the mercenary. Partnered with Furno, Stormer soon discovered that Core Hunter was searching for the three components of the Doom Box, a doomsday device of galactic proportions. Reconvening with Alpha Team on the planet the Doom Box was forged on, Stormer and his teammates were overpowered by their adversary until Surge dealt a decisive blow that presumably disrupted Core Hunter's molecular constitution. Abilities and Traits As one of Alpha Team's most senior members, Stringer's years of experience have molded him into a composed and outgoing Hero, making him incredibly brave both in terms of facing external, physical danger as well as facing up to unpleasant situations and admitting his own mistakes. Confident and rational, Stringer rarely permits high-pressure situations to influence his performance, enabling him to consistently surpass expectation and suiting him to patrol duty. Distinguished by his Southern accent and affinity for Sonic-based weaponry, Stringer is one of the most durable Heroes on active duty. Performing at peak physical condition and possessing especially sensitive audio receptors, Stringer is often prone to picking up sounds and frequencies beyond the average range of hearing. Arsenal In his original form, Stringer was equipped with a customized Sonic Boom Weapon, a weapon designed to weaponize sonic vibrations and shoot concentrated sound blasts at a target. While this blaster possessed an especially slow firing rate, the Sonic Boom Weapon was able to launch a single, circular round that undulated inwards and outwards continuously with homing capabilities when fired normally. Once charged, it fired a slower-moving single round that could cause a stunning effect. Some time after being refitted with the Upgrade, Stringer was temporarily equipped with jungle-compatible armor channeling the abilities of a bear. In this form, he notably wielded a Triple-Bladed Bear Claw, a gauntlet that was capable of both firing a plasma bolt and dealing devastating close-ranged slashing attacks. Refitted to combat the mass BREAKOUT event, Stringer was equipped with a Mega Decibel Sound Blaster, a weapon modeled after his original Sonic Boom Weapon. Gallery Stringer.jpg|Stringer's original form Stringer_2.0.png|Digital rendering of Stringer 2.0 Stringer 3.0.png|Stringer 3.0 Stringer Breakout.png|BREAKOUT Trivia *Stringer was voiced by Stephen Stanton in the Hero Factory Television Show. *Stringer's forename and interest in sonic-based weaponry notably act as a tip of the hat to Jimi Hendrix, one of the most influential musicians of the American Rock genre. Appearances *''War Forged'' *''Alternate History: Von Nebula'' *''Fall of Magma Moon'' *''The Vengeance Attack'' *''Malice Of The Fire Lord'' *''When Heroes Arise'' Category:Alpha Team Category:Characters Category:Heroes Category:Hero Factory Category:Veteran Heroes